What it Really Means to Market Listings Today

Regardless of real estate market conditions, our clients hire us to get their properties sold. Sorting through this week’s news and numbers regarding how we market those listings, there still seems to be a huge disconnect between how most agents think their listings are marketed and the realty of the fastest growing resources that the consumers are getting their information from.

Just Being in the MLS Does Not Cut it Anymore

Internet use is evolving and isn't going to go away

It is all about turning your listing into a story now. The websites that are gaining most of our consumers attention are not depending on the information feeding from the MLS. They are looking for agents to contribute information on their listings. Our consumers are buyers, sellers and other Realtors®. They are going in masses to sites like Zillow and Trulia, sites that take basic information from feeds, but are looking to the listing agents for more pictures, open houses and additional descriptions about the property. Sites like these mix social networking and listing data. They offer free blogs and question and answer pages to engage professionals with consumers. The sites are doing a good job evolving as social media evolves.

Blockshopper.com is another example of MLSs losing their relevance in marketing both agents and listings. They pull their data from tax records. Owners can “claim” their homes. Agents who establish accounts can add notes to their listings and previous sales. It shows transaction history of the property. This site is a work in progress, as every site needs to be.

Does Your Broker Do Your Showings?

Think of it this way: it is the agent, not the broker, (the difference explained here) who has viewed the property, evaluated the pricing, condition, and sales potential. You now have platforms to communicate all of this information. The new generation of sites depend on broker feeds as a foundation and build upon that with agent participation. What prospective sellers see on these sites is your first interview and then the follow up in getting a listing. When buyers are searching for a property what they see online about your listing is the first showing and if there is any interest it is the third showing. The brokers provide agents with the tools but it is the agents that sell the properties. It works the same way in the virtual world.

These sites are growing at a faster pace than traditional sites because they are providing the transparency the consumers are looking for.

About Andrea Geller

Andrea Geller, Realtor® with Sudler Sotheby?s International Realty, specializes in residential real estate sales and marketing of resale properties and new construction homes. Acknowledged as an expert in the real estate industry, Andrea has been interviewed for industry related articles for print and online media including the Chicago Tribune, Crain's Chicago Business, Reuters, Bankrate.com, and Illinois Realtor Magazine. Andrea's commitment extends to the community as an active member of several professional associations. Her appointments include the Board of Directors of the Chicago, Illinois, and National Association of Realtors® and the Lakeview Chamber of Commerce. She markets herself under HOT PROPERTY®, an innovation in the real estate industry led by Chaz Walters that has been marketed since the 1990s. This unique real estate concept is always a step ahead of the industry providing marketing from cutting edge interactive exposure to targeted innovative advertising opportunities. Visit her at www.hotpropertychicago.com or 773.868.3090.

[…] Reaching the most buyers is not only about what the brokerage does to expose listings, but what the agent does with the listing. A listing agent?s vernacular now needs to include such terms as interactive marketing, listing syndication, SEO, and listing enhancement. Being on the MLS does not equal marketing a home. […]